Friday, February 4, 2011

BAKED KIBBEH - KIBBEH AU FOUR

Lebanon. This name sounds very poetic, don't you think? Pronounce this unique, bewitching word and you'll get me phantasizing about refined and dreamlike dishes with exhalirating aromas and fragrant perfumes, antique temples still standing triumphantly even when in ruin, glorious ancient empires full of mystique (Phoenician, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian, Roman & Byzantine), busy markets with stalls exploding with fresh veggies, fruits, spices, dried fruits and exquisite desserts, gorgeous sunny landscapes, snowy mountain tops, flat desertic plains, luscious pine tree forests and postcard-like coastlines, small coffee shops and restaurants crowded with men and women casually enjoying a delightful meals and sipping on their coffees or arak, and hospitable as well as frindly people who open the doors of their homes to visitors and happily share their meal with you. All of that might not be very accurate or the same in reality, but it is nonetheless what this complex country inspires me...

One thing I am sure of though is that the Lebanese rich gastronomic traditions have a lot to offer for gourmets like me and there is no doubt about the reasons why this place's cuisine is venerated all around the world. It's deliciousness is incomparable. Absolutely no myth here. If you already know the century-old Lebanese cuisine, then you know that I'm not lying and if you have never tasted it, well I can only assure you that you must immediately remedy this situation as you most likely have missed out on a fabulous experience.

Every time I plan to prepare a yummy dish for the weekend, I invariably pick up one of my Middle Eastern cookooks and leaf through it's page while drooling. For me, that kind of is synonymous of culinary enlightment and extreme epicurian pleasure. I am constantly amazed by the recipes hailing from that region of the globe. But there is no mystery to why I am attracted to such wonderful exotic eats. I am crazy about spices, lamb, poultry, pilafs, mezze, dips, sticky and nutty desserts, flat breads and bulghur. Such goodies have a drug-like effect on me.

Being a really well-organized foodie who behaves like a squirrel (a stock freak) I always make sure that my cupboards and freezer are garnished with a vast array of ingredients (tons of spices, grains, legumes, pastes, sauces, herbs, cans, meat, etc..). In that way, it leaves me the opportnity to cook or bake more or less anything I want without having to run out to the supermarket.

As my pantry is a treasure trove just like Ali-Baba's cave and it hides many gems, I had no problem putting together one of Lebanon's national dishes, a "Kibbeh" that I had spotted in Claudia Roden's excellent book "Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon". Thanks to my tendency to accumulate goods I had everything at hand. The ground lamb meat was in the freezer, a bag of pine nuts that needed to get used was sitting on my dried fruit shelf, a bottle of pomegranate molasses was carefully kept in the sauce section of the counter next to the oven, a packet of bulghur was stocked in my IKEA cart and both the cinnamon as well as the allspice were waiting for me in the spice cabinet. Perfect!The name "Kibbeh" derives from the Arabic word "kubbah" meaning "ball". This delicacy is one of the Levantine cuisine's most widespread dishes and can be found in Syria, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, the Arabian Penninsula, Armenia, Israel, Latin America (Brazil,Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras or Mexico -imported by the Syrian & Lebanese dispora) and Cyprus. This course is made with bulghur (sometimes even with rice), meat (also fish, pumpkin or potatoes) and spices. There are different varieties (vegetarian, balls, oval-shaped, patties that are either baked, cooked in broth, yoghurt, bitter orange juice or fried and there's even one version that is very similar to tartare and consists of raw meat), but the most common of them is the torpedo-shaped croquettes that are stuffed with minced beef or lamb and are deep-fried.

Making "Baked Kibbeh" for the first time was no big deal for me, thanks to my food processor and my years of experimenting with cooking. The preparation required no particular skill and was not messy, long nor complex. It was quite straightforward and idiotproof, but what came out of the oven was far from being plain or simple.

With it's complex and refined flavors, this Middle-Eastern meatloaf is extremely palatable. The meat base is soft, moist and meatilicious, and is crowned a sweet, sour, savory onion and pinenut topping. This "Baked Kibbeh" can be served hot or at room temperature as a mezze (cut in small pieces) or main dish, and makes a grandiose potluck or picnic dish that will be wolfed by adults and kids alike. With the leftovers you can even create a scrummy sandwich (use pita, fattoush breads or baguette Parisienne and add the spread of your choice - yoghurt, "Tarrator Sauce", "Baba Ganoush" or "Hummus").

Serves 4.Ingredients For The "Baked Kibbeh" Base:2/3 Cup (160g) Fine-ground bulgur1 Medium white onion, cut into quarters1 Pound (500g) Lean ground lamb (lean & boneless cubed leg of lamb)1 Tsp Sea saltGround black pepper, to taste1 1/2 Tsp Ground cinnamon1+1 Tbs Vegetable oil (to grease the pan and the top of the kibbeh)Ingredients For The "Onion & Pine Nut Topping":1 Pound (500g) White onions, sliced (half-moon)3 Tbs Extra-virgin olive oil1/3 Cup (50g) Pine nutsSea salt, to tasteGround black pepper, to taste1/2 Tsp Ground cinnamon1/3 Tsp Ground allspice3 Tbs Pomegranate molassesMethod For The "Baked Kibbeh" Base:1. Cover the bulgur with water and let rest 10 minutes. Drain well.2. In a food processor, purée the onion, then add the meat, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Blend to a fine paste.3. Add the drained bulgur and blend again in order to get a smooth, homogenous and soft paste.4. Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F). Oil a 26cm (10inch) diameter tart pan/dish and then press the paste into the bottom of the pan/dish with your hands.5. Flatten and smooth the top. Rub with 1 tablespoons oil.6. With a pointed knife, cut the kibbeh into 6 wedges through the center, and run the knife around the edges of the dish to release them.7. Bake the kibbeh in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes, until browned.

Method For The "Topping":8. Meanwhile, fry the onions in the olive oil until they are golden brown, stirring often.9. Add the pine nuts. Stir-fry until lightly golden.10. Salt and pepper to taste, then add the cinnamon, allspice and the pomegranate molasses.11. Continue cooking and stirring for about 1 minute.12. Spread the onion mixture over the top of the kibbeh and serve.Remarks:You can replace the pinenuts by 2/3 cup (90g) shelled walnuts, broken into pieces.If you wish, you can also add 2 tablespoons raisins that have been previously soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained (in case you are using the raisins, ommit the pomegranate molasses) or add 1 tablespoon sumac to the onion topping (then ommit the pomegranate molasses).

Kibbeh is one of my favorite Lebanese dishes. Although I adore Lebanese food, beyond fattoush, I've never tried making it at home! I'm lucky that I live in Dubai and have all these teriific Middle Eastern dishes are on my doorstep. I even visited a baklava factory today!!

In my family we make saynniyeh with inside or outside round beef. Instead of having a topping, we have a filling and put another layer of kibbeh on top of the mixture of sauteed pinenuts, feta cheese, and onions.

I'm feeling hungry now thanks to you. Yes, the word "Lebanon" conjures up exotic images from faraway lands full of wonderful things. I love your passion for Middle Eastern cuisine and this recipe. Have a great weekend!

I want some! I thought kibbeh was always raw - we learn something new everyday:) Looks really nice. If I didn't read the details I could easily mistake it for chocolate cheesecake with dried fruit and nut topping:)

I sure wish I could have these fantasies about Lebanon! I enjoyed reading them! :)i have been an admirer of claudia Roden for decades, her background is similar to my dad who also grew up in Egypt; my friend Kamal Mouzawak in Lebanon met her and adored her. Anyway, I have seen this recipe in her book and want to point out that the addition of pomegranate molasses is a Syrian touch (from Damascus) that was adopted in lebanon. Your kibbeh is a magnificent and perfectly executed.

you make everything look so beautiful and worth indulging. The kibbeh looks wonderful. Lebanese cuisine and to die for and this version does match up to the traditional reputation. LOVE the photograph of the pom molasses.

A beautiful kibbeh, Rosa! I loved reading about your enthusiasm for Middle Eastern cooking. I am not very familiar with it and enjoyed reading this post. This kibbeh recipe is not intimidating and I'd love to try it.The cookbook sounds wonderful.

I've known the kibbeh for ages( Friends of mine are from Lebanon) They made a kibbeh more "crunchy" I would like to taste yours. This i a good idea to join a crunchy topping. As usual your pictures are so dreamy. Thanks.

I was given a copy for Arabesque for my birthday recently from my good friend in England. I am in love with this book and cannot wait to get started. My great uncle is from Lebanon so over the years I had been introduced to the cuisine and really have enjoyed it. I hope to throw him an Lebanese dinner party soon. This gorgeous dish might just make it onto the table as well. Lovely!

Rosa, this post reminded me of the opportunity as a young adult to enjoy many meals with an Iranian family, that woke-up my flavors to the complex and flavorful tastes of Middle Eastern food. A food rich in tradition and culture.

Love this post! Thanks for sharing.Velva

P.S. If you ever want to submit one of your photos for my Wordless Wednesday post, I would love it.

I've never had kibbeh and possibly never tried any Lebanese dishes. How shocking! Thanks for introducing this culinary icon, and I love that your kitchen is like alibaba's cave... a wonder of riches indeed!

I've always adapted Lebanese ingredients into my sometimes eclectic cuisine...however, I've never prepared a truly authentic Lebanese dish.We have fabulous eateries that treat us with this great cuisine and therefore a good reason to go out to eat once and a while.I already spend way too much time in the kitchen ;)

Love that this recipe is baked.Rosa...Thanks for sharing all your wisdom in the kitchen ;o)

Wow, Rosa, I really need to try this, it looks delicious. Would be lovely for one of our train parties. I need to find pomegranate molasses now, I am afraid. I love the word "idiotproof" :)Have a lovely wednesday!

My father lived with an Iranian family while he college and developed a real love of Middle Eastern food, especially kibbeh! We ate a lot of it growing up, but I have never seen it look so fancy before. It's a whole new face to kibbeh that I've never seen! Well done!

Hi, Rosa! I had never heard about kibbeh until I came across your blog and your recipe. I was so much fascinated by your baked kibbeh that I couldn't wait for too long to make it. We had it for lunch yesterday. I thought it was going to be more complex to make, but it's so easy!

I made some changes since it's impossible to find pomegranate molasses in here and this fruit is out of season now. So I made caramelised onion and the result was fantastic.

Thanks a lot for the recipe and for your lovely picts. In a short while, my baked kibbed will be published in my blog.